House GOP pulls Agriculture spending bill

The Agriculture Department’s annual budget has been pulled from the House calendar in the wake of last Thursday’s defeat of a five-year Farm Bill.

Even after the loss, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) had spoken confidently of turning next to the $19.45 billion measure which also funds the Food and Drug Administration and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. But House legislative notices no longer list the spending measure for this week’s floor schedule, and the GOP’s message machine has shifted to energy bills.

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This week in Congress

The House Rules Committee is still slated to consider the Agriculture budget bill Tuesday evening — leaving open a slim chance of action before the July 4th recess. And when Rules meets, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) is expected to have objections to some of the legislated spending provisions in the appropriations bill.

If Lucas were to insist on his points of order, it could force more cuts in a bill already about $1.3 billion below what Congress approved in March for the same accounts. But Republicans are candid to say the changed floor schedule is less about managing dollars than perceptions after the embarrassing defeat last week.

On one hand, action would give the leadership a chance to show it hasn’t forgotten farmers entirely. On the other, there is a strong desire to change the subject, especially given Cantor’s role in the turmoil that led to the bill’s defeat.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, having twice passed farm bills in the Senate in the past two years, won’t make forgetting easy.

The Nevada Democrat said Monday he will oppose the easy way out of Congress simply passing another 12-months extension of current farm programs.

In a statement rich with feigned sympathy, Reid said he recognized Speaker John Boehner’s dilemma and suggested Boehner take up the Senate farm bill since he was unable to pass his own.

“I have often said that Speaker Boehner has one of the toughest jobs in Washington,” Reid said. “Even though the Speaker took the unusual step of announcing his support for the measure ahead of the vote, the bill still went down in flames.”

“Doing nothing means no reform, no deficit reduction and no certainty for America’s 16 million farm-industry workers,” Reid said. “I want everyone within the sound of my voice — as well as my colleagues on the other side of the Capitol — to know that the Senate will not pass another temporary farm bill extension.”